Master of Puppets
by Wootabulous
Summary: The sealing of the Kyuubi almost kills Naruto, consequences arise. Raised in Suna. Determined to be a ninja, yet physically unable to due to the damage done. So he turns to the only path he can to become a ninja...A Master of Puppets. Naru/Hina


** A side-project, one that will hopefully help me get over my confounding lack of inspiration for writing, so that I can also update my other stories.**

**Wanted to get back into writing after not writing for a long time, busy real life does that to you.**

**New concept, not sure how it'll go but I'll certainly take a crack at it (using Puppets!)**

**Plus, I've NEVER seen this done before (although I only chill around the Naru/Hina section, so maybe it has been done elsewhere i.e Kankuro section).**

**And in addition, confident and powerful Hinata but also gets embarrassed easily. **

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Sarutobi frowned over the almost still child. It appeared the sealing had taken it's toll on the infant's body, and he watched as it fought to breathe. The little baby was also very small in his arms, being prematurely born. He knew instantly that he was in deep trouble, and would not live long without the proper medical help, which only Tsunade could provide. And so even with Konoha ravaged, he gave Jiraiya one task, even in his troubled and drunken state understood.

"Take him to Tsunade, or Minato's legacy will die" he had said.

It would be the last he saw of the boy for many years, as Jiraiya shot out of the window, precious bundle in hand. Sarutobi sighed, and ran a hand through his balding head.

"Time to go face the council" he said with a heavy heart, and walked away.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Tsunade was not easy to find, but Jiraiya travelled as far as he could, finding her residing in a small desert village in the land of Suna. Travelled to almost exhaustion, he had simply handed the baby in soft clothes to Tsunade before collapsing, several days after he had left Konoha. Tsunade had snapped into action, quickly taking Jiraiya back to her hotel room and pulling the note from Jiraiya's hand. Reading it quickly, she quickly snapped and pulled open the cloth, and stared at the little baby struggling to live, battling bravely against the odds to continue it's survival

"A little fighter this one...just like his mother and father" she whispered, and began to heal the baby.

It would take weeks until Naruto was out of any critical danger.

Jiraiya had left as soon as Naruto was looking healthier, promising to visit when he could. He never managed to return, too wrapped up in his grief and spy network. The little baby's eyes a reminder of his failure as a teacher.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

The small little toddler was exhausted. Already far smaller than his age should be, it had taken far longer to the little toddler to even move and crawl. Tsunade on her knees, smiling with her arms wide open ahead of him, Tonton and Shizune looking on.

"Okaa-san" gurgled little Naruto, crawling slowly but determined to her.

Tsunade shouted with glee, picking him up when he reached her and spinning him around.

"My little Naru-chan! So strong and smart" she exclaimed happily, and turned to Shizune.

"And he said okaa-san!" she giggled happily.

Naruto just gurgled happily and again said "Okaa-san" with a cute smile.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

"Okaa-san! I want to be a ninja!" said a little blonde haired boy of three years old as he walked towards her.

"A ninja? But you cannot fulfil the physical requirements my little one" said Tsunade, ruffling his head.

Naruto just perked at these words though.

"I can and I will! Just watch okaa-san! I'll become the best ninja ever!" he exclaimed.

Tsunade simply smiled. She knew he struggled physically his entire life, every step, every crawl, every breath being one of trials. But the Suna air had done him good, strengthening his lungs and he had slowly developed, far slower physically than all the other children but developing nonetheless. And so when he couldn't train his body, Tsunade trained his mind. He was already intelligent as a child, inquisitive and was simply able to somehow understand how things worked. She honed him with shogi and go, testing his thinking. She found he thought three places ahead before he moved, and then she honed him to think four, and then five, and then six. Then she made him make split second decisions, meaning he had to access the board and move quickly. She saw his style come out. Bold, yet subtle. Swift, but patient. Fluid, yet firm. She saw him boldly move pieces with confidence, knowing he could defend the piece, or rather use it to be sacrificed for one of her stronger pieces.

Although Tsunade had split ties with Konoha, she still stayed in touch with several people who gave her information when asked. Nara Shikaku and his team were envoys in Sungakure, and Tsunade jumped on it as a chance to further Naruto's development dramatically. A four year old Naruto was whisked away to Sungakure, to meet the lazy yet brilliant Nara.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Shikaku faced the tiny blonde haired child with pale skin, who was looking back at him with vivid cerulean eyes. And then he shifted the piece forward, smirking internally. Naruto glanced at the board, then at Shikaku and pushed one of his pieces forward. Shikaku sensed the glee from the boy's eyes for a hint of a second, instantly sending Shikaku's eyes back downwards in mild surprise, before countering with one of his pieces. The hint of glee disappeared the rest of the game.

Naruto frowned as he stared at the board, knowing he had lost and was analysing the moves that they both took to get to the stage they were in now. Then he looked at the lazy Nara looking at him somewhat amused.

"You're a poopoo head!" he declared solemnly, pointing his tiny finger at him.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Shikaku sat with Tsunade late at night on the table, discussing animatedly on Naruto's progress and development.

"His mental development is amazing. He's smarter than my little one at home, and he gives me a handful too at these board games" commented Shikaku.

"I know, he wants to be a ninja still" said Tsunade.

"Can't blame him, comes from great ninja stock. His physical profile isn't looking too good? I read the reports Hokage-sama gave the few of us" said Shikaku, taking a sip of sake.

"No, it's very poor. He won't be able to physically stand up and fight any ninja for some time" replied Tsunade.

"Then what will you do?" asked Shikaku, although he partly had an idea of what Tsunade was thinking, training him mentally so much.

"I will find a shinobi to train him, to be a puppeteer" replied Tsunade.

Shikaku ran a hand through his hair.

"That is a long and tough road...are you sure he will handle it?" asked Shikaku.

"He must...or he will have to give up his dream of being a ninja I'm afraid...forever" said Tsunade.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Raised in the Land of Suna, Naruto was a product of many influences. The harsh hot sun led Naruto to wear long robes with hoods. For some reason he was led to orange much to his little family's despair, but Tsunade wisely convinced him it would give him away too easily, and so he wore a dark red one with red swirling patterns on it. Early in his childhood, he was as inquisitive and bold as his mother. For such a small child, it was not uncommon for two women and a pig frantically searching the house for the giggling child that could disappear almost at will. Tsunade's gambling habits also influenced Naruto. He had accidently walked into a casino after curiously following his mother. Then in a high stakes game where he wagered Tonton as prime pig meat, he ended up winning over twenty thousand in earnings. Tsunade had hugged him and laughed, but then scolded him later. When they were in debt however, Tsunade brought him to the casino with her to win back her money and further their fortune.

He was also influenced by Shizune. Shizune wasn't the prettiest girl, but she was graceful and very good at being a medic and poisons. He grew to love medicine and poison like his mother and older sister, and thus knew very basic healing jutsu and the geology of herbs and plants that could be harvested and used as poison, which would grow handy for when he began to customise his puppet. The jutsu's he was taught led him to work hard on his chakra control, However, the lack of interaction with other kids led him to be slightly more reserved and quiet, however was different around those he was very close to. Whereas children were playing in the sand and play wrestling, Naruto was at home watching enviously as his body couldn't cope with it. Tonton was a part of the family, and Naruto grew used to the happy little pig around. He also used to chase the poor critter when he was younger, finding excitement much to the distress of the pig in question.

Being more reserved and quiet, yet naturally inquisitive by nature and fascinated by things, Naruto quite often got into mischief. But nothing fascinated him more when Tsunade came home, a kindly late-aged old lady came in, with puppets. She was a famed puppet master and she grew to adore the little child who gave it his all, and then some more. He lovingly nicknamed her 'baa-chan.' And so began his puppet training which he absorbed eagerly.

Whenever she had time, Baa-chan would come by and continue to teach Naruto about puppets, concealment and also helped him control his chakra for chakra strings to use his puppets. She was amazed by Naruto's forward thinking and strategic prowess.

One day Chiyo came in with several boxes helped with several shinobi ninja. She placed them on the living room floor and nodded to the ninjas who had helped her.

"Baa-chan!" exclaimed a five year old Naruto, running up to her.

"Hello Naru-chan!" said Chiyo happily, smiling at the little boy and ruffling his head.

"What's in the box baa-chan?" asked Naruto curiously, looking at the large amount of boxes.

"We're going to make your first combat puppet! Then as you grow older, you can continue to refine your puppet, and then maybe if you get really good you can use more than one puppet!" said Chiyo.

Naruto's eyes grew wide, and he quickly opened the box to see a wooden frame.

"This was the last puppet my grandson was working on" explained Chiyo, pulling out the heavy wooden piece, which was a piece of beautiful woodwork.

"And I pass it on to you little one, for I have a feeling one day you will become great."

They dove right into it, and together they assembled the puppet over the course of several days. It would take years of training for Naruto to be able to control the puppet well.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Sometimes another ninja-in-training came with her, called Kankuro. Naruto later found out he had an older sister and younger brother, who Kankuro took him to meet.

Surprisingly, when he met Temari and Gaara, although Gaara was kind of weird, creepy and sadistic, they both got along well. Temari and Kankuro were afraid of Gaara, but Naruto had simply nodded respectfully to him. Gaara slowly shifted slightly away from his death to all living things attitude, but still was feared and respected in the village.

But the biggest test for Naruto would come when Tsunade told him that he was going to attend the Chuunin exams, in Konohagakure. Tsunade also spoke how she came from Konohagakure, and that they needed to go back home, where they will stay permanently. And so they went, the Suna genin teams with them, travelling to Konoha. Still weak physically, it would be a good test for him to see how well he could cope.

Little did he know that he would get an exemption from the second stage, partly due to Sarutobi's influence with Tsunade telling him beforehand, and that Tsunade did not want to associate Naruto with Suna since his roots were from Konoha. That didn't stop Naruto from hanging out with Gaara, Kankuro and Temari. He headed off with them when Tsunade and Shizune told him that they needed to do stuff, and will meet up with him later. Naruto smiled slightly at them and agreed. Tsunade and Shizune went on their way, little Tonton in Shizune's arms.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

Konohamaru slammed hard into Kankuro, instantly irritating the older shinobi as the younger ninja hit the ground.

"What the hell is this twerp?" asked Kankuro, picking up Konohamaru by the shirt who immediately started squirming.

"What the hell, put him down!" shouted a shaggy haired boy with red triangles under his eyes, a dog sitting on his head who was chasing after him.

Two others were behind him, a pink haired girl and a long haired lavender girl rounding the corner a second after, skidding to a stop next to Kiba.

"What are you doing Kankuro, we're guests here" said Temari, glancing at him.

"Don't worry, I'll just play with them a bit" grinned Kankuro, moving to unwrap his bundle on his back while still holding the struggling Konohamaru by one arm.

Instantly the lavender haired girl shot forward with amazing speed, a palm in front of Kankuro's face, while Kiba moved slightly forward, ready to backup if necessary.

"I don't want to hurt you" she said confidently, pale pupil-less eyes looking at him.

Kankuro sneered at her, dumping Konohamaru at his feet and she retracted her arm, yet still looked ready.

"You want a fight that badly huh?" grinned Kankuro, the bundle in his hands now.

"Enough Kankuro, or I'll kill you" said a chilly voice. A red haired boy stood on the trunk of the tree staring at them, arms crossed.

Kankuro immediately froze, and the atmosphere chilled.

"My apologies" he said, placing the bundle back on his back.

Gaara landed on the ground.

"Let's go, we're guests here" he said, moving to walk away. The other two followed him.

Kiba shifted back on his heels, and Hinata lifted up from her ready position, staring at their retreating backs. Sakura sighed in relief and Konohamaru glared at their backs.

"My apologies about my teammates" said a soft voice next to them.

All four of them jumped in surprise, and turned to face the stranger leaning against the fence next to them, clad in a black robe with the hood covering his face and arms crossed. The robe covered his body, but they could tell from the outline he wasn't very big, nor was he tall like Kiba. Rather he was slightly shorter than Hinata. The figure looked up, pulling up the hood to show his face and looked at them.

"It's okay, I'm sure they meant no harm" said the lavender-haired girl, looking curiously at the ninja.

Naruto simply blinked before standing up straight, and looking at the lavender-haired girl. She radiated a calm beauty and confidence about her, and had no qualms looking back at him. However she immediately froze as his piercing cerulean eyes stared at her.

"You're a rather interesting person, rather cute too" said Naruto, tilting his head at her before slowly moving after his companions.

Hinata's eyes widened; and she could feel the heat rushing to her face at his comment and she quickly ducked her head, hair covering her red face.

"What's your name?" shouted Kiba to the figure moving away.

The figure stopped, and turned to them.

"You'll see in the exams" he replied and continued to walk, pulling his hood back down.

**o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o**

**Reviews are always appreciated.**

**Also a query for you guys. Would you prefer if I used 'Puppet Master,' 'Master of the Puppets' or 'Puppeteer'. **

**Chuck that in with your review, there's a lot of ways of saying it and I want the easiest way for you guys. **

**I was trending towards either Puppet Master or Puppeteer.**

**Regardless, I hope you enjoy the first chapter and see you soon!**

**Until Next Time~**

**Woot~**


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